A1 · Commands, wishes and conditions · about 7 minutes
The imperative: “gel!” and “gelin!”
come! (familiar and polite)
The bare stem for “sen”, “-in” for “siz” — and “lütfen” for politeness.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need6
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- açmakto open; to switch on
- sağright
- dönmekto return; to turn
- düzstraight on
- yardımhelp
- affedersinizexcuse me (polite)
Understand
RememberStem for sen, -in for siz: gel, gelin — and gelme, gelmeyin.
- Signal words
- lütfen
- hadi
- haydi
- hemen
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Turkish. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) person ending negation
| come! (sen) | (sen) gel |
| come! (siz: polite or plural) | (siz) gelin |
| he, she should come | (o) gelsin |
| they should come | (onlar) gelsinler |
| don’t come! (sen) | (sen) gelme |
| don’t come! (siz) | (siz) gelmeyin |
| wait! (sen) | (sen) bekle |
| wait! (siz) | (siz) bekleyin |
| go! (sen) | (sen) git |
| go! (siz) | (siz) gidin |
| sit down! (siz) | (siz) oturun |
| please wait (sign) | (siz) bekleyiniz |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
For sen the imperative is the stem on its own.
Buraya gel!Come here!
For siz, -in is added, with y after a vowel.
Lütfen biraz bekleyin.Please wait a moment.
The negative takes -me or -ma.
Kapıyı açma!Don’t open the door!
For “he, she should …” you add -sin.
Ayşe de gelsin.Ayşe should come too.
With gitmek and etmek, t becomes d before -in.
Sağa dönün, sonra düz gidin.Turn right, then go straight on.
Example sentences
Lütfen oturun.Please sit down.
Kapıyı kapat, lütfen.Close the door, please.
Burada sigara içmeyin.Please don’t smoke here.
6 more example sentences
Biraz bekle!Wait a moment!
Bana yardım edin, lütfen!Help me, please!
Ellerini yıka!Wash your hands!
Yavaş konuşun, lütfen.Please speak slowly.
Korkma, köpek bir şey yapmaz.Don’t be afraid, the dog won’t do anything.
Çocuklar, hemen eve gelin!Children, come home right now!
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “Wait!” is the same for everyone, so the short form Bekle! slips out with strangers too. It is for friends and children. If you address a stranger with affedersiniz “excuse me” and then say bekle, you are mixing polite and familiar in one sentence. With strangers use -in.
Quick check
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Next on the path: 24 · The dative: where to and to whomBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The imperative for sen (one person you know well) is the shortest thing a Turkish verb has: the stem on its own. gelmek → Gel! “Come!”, oturmak → Otur! “Sit down!”, beklemek → Bekle! “Wait!”
For siz — polite, or more than one person — you add -in with four-way vowel harmony: Gelin!, Oturun!, Bakın!, Görün!. After a vowel a y goes in: Bekleyin!, Okuyun!. With gitmek and etmek the t becomes d: Gidin!, Yardım edin! On signs and in letters you read the longer form -iniz: Lütfen bekleyiniz. “Please wait.”
The negative takes -me or -ma: Gelme!“Don’t come!”Gelmeyin!(polite) And for “let him …”, “he should …” there is -sin: Ali de gelsin. “Ali should come too.”
English has one imperative for everyone; Turkish makes you choose: Gel!to a friendGelin!to a waiter or a doctor With lütfen “please” it sounds friendlier.
A closer look
Asking more politely
Even more polite than Kapıyı kapatın, lütfen. is a question in the aorist: Kapıyı kapatır mısınız? “Would you close the door?” That is how you ask in shops, at offices and with people you do not know.
Among friends the stem is enough, with hadi “come on” or bir in front: Bir bak! “Have a look!”
Bana yardım eder misiniz?Would you help me?
Exceptions and special cases1
Exception
When you come across a sign or a form
then you often find -iniz instead of -in: Lütfen bekleyiniz., Kapıyı kapatınız.
Lütfen ayakkabılarınızı çıkarınız.Please take off your shoes.
Why? The longer form sounds official and formal. In conversation you say -in.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Compared with English
English has one imperative: “Come!”. Turkish has two, and the polite one is also the plural, just as siz means both. You need no pronoun: siz would be too much.
Gelin, oturun!Come in, sit down!
Worth knowing
For the third person too
English says “he should come” or “let him come”. Turkish has an imperative of its own for this: gelsin, plural gelsinler.
Misafirler içeri gelsin.Let the guests come in.
The verbs on this page, in every form: gelmek · beklemek · gitmek · içmek · dönmek · açmak · kapatmak